Chapter 175 : The Man with the Broad Back
Chapter 175: The Man with the Broad Back
Before Yul Han could even warn that there were ordinary people present and they should be careful, the Iron Demon burst forward, smashing the door and charging inside.
The Profound Demon and the Ghost Demon followed right behind him.
The aura emanating from inside was far from ordinary.
But then—
Bang! Bang!
After a series of loud impacts, the three of them, including the Iron Demon, were simultaneously thrown back.
They had not been completely suppressed, but the mere fact that their attacks—three Manifestation Realm masters—had been blocked was enough to guess the opponent’s ability.
Yul Han drew both his sword and the Lightning Cloud Blade without hesitation and stepped into the room.
He was there.
The Monk Eightfold Confusion whom they had searched for so long.
Whether it was good news or bad news, it was not the appearance Yul Han had expected.
He had anticipated the form of a monster dripping with Ghostly Aura and craving blood.
But the Monk Eightfold Confusion before him looked upright and completely intact.
However, it did not take long for Yul Han to realize something.
The Monk Eightfold Confusion standing before him was merely a shell. Someone else sat inside it.
“Who are you?”
When Yul Han asked with blood-red eyes, the Monk Eightfold Confusion twisted his lips into a crooked smile.
“So the more dangerous one came after all. But you… you’re the same as me.”
Just as Yul Han had recognized him, the opponent had also realized that another soul resided within him.
Since the Iron Demon and the others were behind him, Yul Han judged there was no reason to drag out the conversation and immediately launched his offensive.
Shrrr—
The Lightning Cloud Blade gathered lightning as he unleashed the Half-Moon Asura Slash.
The destructive force was so immense that the floor rose and the walls burst apart.
Yet the Monk Eightfold Confusion raised his arms, crossed them, and perfectly blocked the attack with arms wrapped in Force Energy.
“Definitely dangerous.”
Saying that with a completely relaxed expression only sounded like mockery.
Yul Han clenched his teeth and moved.
Swoosh!
His sword shot forward faster than a beam of light.
But—
Tap. Tremble.
The sword barely stopped in midair.
Without warning, the Monk Eightfold Confusion grabbed the courtesan who had been sitting beside him in terror and shoved her in front as a shield.
Drip…
The sound of flowing liquid spread, followed by a foul smell.
Startled, the courtesan fainted and relieved herself.
Right in front of her nose, Yul Han withdrew his sword, his gaze glaring at the Monk Eightfold Confusion as if he would devour him.
“You possess the body of a mind reader, yet you lack the mind of one. Then again, even I, who took the body of the World-Honored One’s child, possess no Buddhist heart. Hahahahaha!”
Laughing loudly as if something amused him greatly, the Monk Eightfold Confusion continued.
“Today is not yet the right time. Let us meet again next time.”
“You will never escape.”
“We’ll see.”
The moment the words ended, he hurled the courtesan in his hand at Yul Han.
And then—
“Kill them!”
As soon as the Monk Eightfold Confusion gave the command, the surroundings burst apart and Martial Artists of the Four Calamity Emperors’ Stronghold poured in from every direction.
Generally, those with a good heart would instinctively catch an innocent woman thrown toward them.
With the Martial Artists of the Four Calamity Emperors’ Stronghold flooding in from all sides, he judged he could escape.
But—
Instead of catching the thrown woman, Yul Han stepped forward as if merely dodging a flying stone.
Startled by the unexpected action, the Monk Eightfold Confusion hurriedly raised his body to flee.
Slash.
“Ugh!”
Blood sprayed with a deep groan, yet the Monk Eightfold Confusion’s figure had already vanished.
No matter how he tried, Yul Han could not trace him. Whatever Lightness Skill he had used, it left no trail.
Instead, Yul Han stared coldly at the single severed arm left behind.
The Martial Artists of the Four Calamity Emperors’ Stronghold rushed toward him like moths to a flame.
But by then, the Iron Demon, the Ghost Demon, and the Profound Demon—who had rushed back into the room—began slaughtering them.
They had taken their time because they believed things would already be settled once Yul Han entered.
The room, which appeared to be the residence of the establishment’s owner, was too small even for Yul Han alone to rampage freely.
The fight inside ended in an instant.
No matter how capable they were, charging three Manifestation Realm masters was nothing less than suicide.
Even though it ended so quickly, the expressions of the Iron Demon and the other two were filled with discomfort and guilt.
They blamed themselves for moving too slowly and allowing the Monk Eightfold Confusion to escape.
But Yul Han shook his head.
“He had already decided to sacrifice even his subordinates to escape. There is no reason to blame yourselves for someone like that. Next time we simply won’t let him escape—we will kill him.”
At his answer, the Iron Demon, the Profound Demon, and the Ghost Demon nodded.
Next time, they swore they would never be pushed back.
After Yul Han and his group left without another word, several lumps of gold remained behind.
It was a kind of compensation for the shattered floor and walls.
The owner, who had been cursing furiously at the corpses and the wrecked building, spotted the gold and quietly stopped swearing.
“Ahem. Great Heroes have departed. Clean this place up quietly.”
Knowing exactly why those he had just called bastards deserving to be fried in a cesspit had suddenly become Great Heroes, the workers blinked at each other and hurried to clean up the ruined establishment.
Of course, the courtesan who had been slammed onto the floor when Yul Han dodged seemed to feel differently.
With the workers’ help, she struggled to stand and spat out a harsh curse.
“You bastard!”
It was anger directed at Yul Han for not catching her.
But she did not know.
The reason she felt only slight pain and remained alive was because Yul Han had supported her with his Internal Energy.
Because of that effort, he had severed only the Monk Eightfold Confusion’s arm instead of his head.
If not for that, the courtesan—thrown with tremendous Internal Energy—could never have survived.
The Four Calamity Emperors’ Stronghold they revisited just in case was completely empty.
The Monk Eightfold Confusion had not returned, and all the Martial Artists left behind had fled.
“As expected, he didn’t come back here.”
While Yul Han clicked his tongue in disappointment, the Iron Demon—who had been inspecting the interior with the Ghost Demon and the Profound Demon—approached and whispered.
“There is something you should see.”
Curious, Yul Han followed him.
Inside the warehouse—
“Hm…”
Even Yul Han was surprised.
Gold and silver treasures were piled high.
“What should we do? It feels too wasteful to leave them.”
At the Iron Demon’s meaningful glance, Yul Han answered.
“Leave them? Of course not. We’ll take them.”
The corners of the Iron Demon’s mouth curled almost to his ears.
When he tried to go summon their people through a nearby Message Dispatch Station, Yul Han stopped him and turned to the Profound Demon.
“Go around and gather those who once belonged to the Four Calamity Emperors’ Stronghold. Threaten them—say if they try to slip away, they will be hunted down no matter what. They’ll gather.”
Just as Yul Han predicted, the Profound Demon wandered around and told anyone who looked even remotely like someone from the Unorthodox Factions to gather their comrades and return to the Stronghold.
He also made sure to threaten them that if they ran, they would be hunted down.
Perhaps because of that, within two Shijin nearly two thousand people gathered again.
They had fled in fear, but since less than one Shijin had passed before Yul Han returned, they had not managed to escape far.
Leaving them to the Iron Demon and the Ghost Demon, Yul Han ordered all the treasures of the Stronghold to be transported to the Main Fortress of the Bright Cult without leaving a single piece behind.
Nearly two thousand Unorthodox Faction members carried the treasures in a long procession under the command of the Iron Demon and the Ghost Demon and left the Stronghold.
After confirming it, Yul Han departed for the Namgung Clan with only the Profound Demon accompanying him.
Though much had happened, it had all occurred in less than half a day.
And it was also the moment when the Pursuit Force of the Four Calamity Emperors’ Stronghold, including the Two Monstrous Spirit Controllers, had nearly caught up with the Bright Light Sect fleeing along the mountain path pointed out by the Revolving Wheel Four Calamity Emperor.
The Lightness Skill of the Manifestation Realm differed from that used by masters of lower realms.
Up to the Transcendent Realm, one simply moved faster—the more Internal Energy poured into the technique, the faster one went.
But once one crossed into the Manifestation Realm, things changed.
Rather than simply using Lightness Skill, it felt as if space itself folded and one passed through the gap.
As if a hidden shortcut between spaces appeared and one traveled along it.
It was difficult to describe, but in terms of movement, distance barely posed a limitation.
In fact, it took only half a Gak to cross from Guangdong, where the Stronghold stood, past Jiangxi and into Anhui.
When Yul Han emerged from that spatial traversal, his expression turned awkward.
He had stopped thinking he had reached a deserted mountain path—only to encounter hundreds of people.
And then—
“S-S-Salyejin Tianhuang!”
The Namgung Clan Dragon–Tiger Branch Stronghold Master, who had been acting as the guide, recognized Yul Han.
At that cry, Yul Han turned his gaze.
Another middle-aged man stepped forward.
“I am Namgung Jihwan, who oversees the Bright Light Sect. We have never held grudges with the Bright Cult. Therefore—”
The Bright Light Sect Master’s words stopped there.
Because the people he least wished to see appeared with sinister smiles.
“Hahaha! We finally caught you—”
The voice and steps of the Two Monstrous Spirit Controllers also halted.
They had recognized Yul Han.
The Profound Demon recognized them as well.
“They’re from the Four Calamity Emperors’ Stronghold. The Two Monstrous Spirit Controllers. Their Spirit Control Sorcery is quite vicious.”
After explaining for Yul Han’s sake, the Profound Demon glared at them and barked.
“If you’ve seen him, hurry over and bow your heads! Why are your eyes still rolling around!”
Startled, the Two Monstrous Spirit Controllers quickly ran forward and bent their backs before Yul Han.
“The Two Monstrous Spirit Controllers greet the Vice Cult Leader of the Bright Cult!”
Yul Han roughly guessed why the Profound Demon, who normally showed little interest in such matters, was stepping forward like this.
Most heretical sorcery originated from the Blood Cult.
People even said the homeland of sorcery in the Central Plains was the Blood Cult.
In other words, the Two Monstrous Spirit Controllers, who practiced Spirit Control Sorcery, were ultimately descendants of the Blood Cult.
Realizing this, Yul Han calmly nodded.
“Nice to meet you. What brings you here?”
“Th-that is…”
As the Two Monstrous Spirit Controllers hesitated, the Profound Demon shouted again.
“You fool! How dare you hesitate before answering the Vice Cult Leader! Speak the truth immediately!”
The Profound Demon was actually struggling to save them.
Since Yul Han had just crushed the Four Calamity Emperors’ Stronghold, he might very well swing his blade and take their heads next.
As Yul Han silently watched him, the Two Monstrous Spirit Controllers finally spoke.
“We received orders to hunt them down…”
They glanced toward the Bright Light Sect members.
“Whose orders?”
“From our Four Calamity Emperor—”
“You dare attach honorifics in front of whom?! Do you wish to die?!”
“S-Sorry!”
The Two Monstrous Spirit Controllers shrank back.
Seeing their fear, Yul Han sent a Mental Voice Transmission to the Profound Demon.
—Do they know who you are?
The Profound Demon’s face stiffened.
—I… I apologize.
Yul Han understood the meaning.
He stared at the Two Monstrous Spirit Controllers.
“I will spare you out of consideration for the Profound Demon. Go to the Flower Pavilion. You will find the Human-Faced Spider there.”
“Eh? The Flower Pavilion?”
The Two Monstrous Spirit Controllers looked confused.
The Profound Demon quickly explained.
“The Four Calamity Emperors’ Stronghold is finished. That so-called Four Calamity Emperor lost an arm to the Vice Cult Leader’s single sword and fled.”
The eyes of the Two Monstrous Spirit Controllers widened to the point of tearing.
The Revolving Wheel Four Calamity Emperor—who felt less human than monster in strength—had lost an arm from a single strike.
They could not even imagine how strong the Vice Cult Leader must be.
Then the Profound Demon shouted again.
“What are you waiting for?! If you’ve received the Vice Cult Leader’s mercy, bow and give thanks immediately!”
Prompted by the shout, the Two Monstrous Spirit Controllers bowed deeply before departing with their subordinates.
Once they disappeared, the Profound Demon bowed his head toward Yul Han.
“Thank you.”
“There are many things I want to ask, but I will leave them buried. At least, I believe the Profound Demon is not someone who would plot schemes.”
“You will not be betrayed by that trust.”
“I know.”
Yul Han smiled faintly and turned away.
Watching his back, the Profound Demon thought that for some reason, that back looked incredibly broad.